3 p.m. update: Good news for UM; Fins OC search update; UM loses second 4-star recruit in two days

3 p.m. update: The Dolphins have asked for permission to interview Eagles executive Tom Gamble about their vacant GM job. He has been highly recommended to Stephen Ross. That makes at least seven candidates for the job. Arizona's Jason Licht is interviewing today.

1 p.m. update: Linebacker Denzel Perryman has informed UM that he is returning for his senior season, according to a UM official. That's significant, because he's UM best linebacker.

Perryman had received a third-round grade from the draft advisory board, but his father said he advised him to return to school. UM said no player is leaving early for the pros.

11 a.m. update: According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Dolphins are "zeroing in" on three people for their offensive coordinator job: former Texans coach Gary Kubiak, former Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and Packers QB coach Ben McAdoo, who worked with Joe Philbin in Green Bay.

His departure leaves UM with only one running back in this class, but a very good one: Miami Central four-star RB Joseph Yearby, who is enrolling this month.

8:30 p.m. update: UM lost a key oral commitment tonight when Booker T. Washington 4-star cornerback Nigel Bethel announced he's flipping to Texas Tech. "Better opportunity for me at Tech," he said. Bethel had criticized UM's defensive scheme but said that didn't factor into his decision.

That leaves UM with three-star Miami Northwestern prospect Ryan Mayes as the only cornerback in the class, though at least two of UM's three safety commitments are possibilities to play cornerback, and Carol City receiver Trayone Gray also can play corner. And UM remains in the mix for four-star CB J.C. Jackson, a soft UF oral commitment.

### Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer has emerged as the front-runner for the Dolphins' GM job, per our Armando Salguero. He worked in Kansas City under Carl Peterson, who is advising Stephen Ross on the search.

8 p.m. update: Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announced tonight that the team's new GM "will have autonomous responsibility for the 53 man roster and selecting players during the draft and will report to me."

He also said Carl Peterson will serve as an advisor with the search but "will not have a role with the Dolphins after the process is over."

Ross said the new GM must have "demonstrated player evaluation expertise" and one is "a collaborative team player that puts the organization first."

Ross said "regardless of reporting structure, the relationship between the general manager and coach Phlilbin must be one of trust, respect and collaboration, and this will be an area we will look closely at during the process."

The Dolphins and Tampa Bay have asked the Tennessee Titans for permission to interview vice president of player personnel Lake Dawson for their GM job, The Tennessean first reported.

They also have asked for permission to speak with Browns assistant GM Ray Farmer, a former pro personnel director for the Chiefs, per The National Football Post.

And three other names have surfaced, according to broadcast reports (ESPN and NFL Net): Pittsburgh director of football administration Omar Kahn (who is well-regarded), Arizona vice president player personnel Jason Licht (who previously held that job with the Eagles), and Falcons director of player personnel Lionel Vital.

Dawson is in his seventh season with the Titans and his second in that position. He previously worked as the Titans' vice president of football operations, and earlier, as director of pro personnel.

Dawson worked in the Seattle Seahawks' personnel department from 2001 to 2006. He has interviewed for GM jobs in the past, including the Rams' last January.

He played receiver at Notre Dame and was a third-round pick of the Chiefs in the 1992 draft. With Kansas City, he caught 103 passes, including 10 touchdowns, in four pro seasons.

Dawson's interview and Farmer's interview would also ensure the Dolphins are in compliance with the Rooney Rule, which mandates that a minority candidate be considered for a senior executive football position. The Dolphins also would be in compliance with the Rooney Rule by interviewing Marc Ross, the first candidate with a confirmed interview for the Dolphins’ GM job.

Ross was a finalist for the Carolina Panthers GM job last year, and his evaluation of college players has drawn praise around the league. In past years, he interviewed for GM jobs with the Jets, Seahawks and Bears.

Ross was the Giants’ vice president of player evaluation this season, a promotion from his previous job as the team’s director of college scouting. “Marc has done an outstanding job of running our college scouting and the draft, and we wanted to give him a title that reflected that,” Giants general manager Jerry Reese said last year.

### UM has offered four-star Booker T. Washington prospect Treon Harris as a quarterback for the first time, according to Canesport.com. Previously, UM had offered him only as an "athlete."

Harris, Rivals.com's No. 3 rated dual-threat quarterback, is an FSU oral commitment but is now expected to at least give some thought to UM, Auburn and perhaps UF. Whether it's too late for UM to sway him remains to be seen. UM also has two oral commitments from quarterbacks: pro-style quarterback Brad Kaaya and dual-threat Alabama-based quarterback Malik Rosier. Both have said they intend to come to UM, though Kaaya's hometown school (UCLA) continues to recruit him.

### Please scroll to the bottom of this post for news on Marlins president David Samson appearing on CBS' Survivor.

### Of the four known candidates for the offensive coordinator job, two have been offensive coordinators in the NFL (Gary Kubiak, Kyle Shanahan) and two have been quarterback coaches but not NFL offensive coordinators (Ben McAdoo and Bill Lazor, who interviewed Wednesday).

One has been a head coach –-- Kubiak, who interviewed for the Detroit head coaching job this week.

Lazor, the Eagles quarterback coach, also previously held that position with Seattle and Atlanta, and was an offensive coordinator at two colleges: Buffalo and Virginia. After joining the Cavaliers in 2010, Lazor immediately turned around an offense that ranked last in the ACC in total yardage the previous year. In his first season at Virginia, the Cavaliers ranked third in the conference, averaging 404.8 yards per game. In 2011, they were fourth in the ACC with 399.8 yards per game.

### Though ESPN continues to mention the Heat as a contender for center Andrew Bynum, his agent said Wednesday night that Miami has shown no interest in signing him. The Heat remains confident that Greg Oden will help them at some point.

### Erik Spoelstra likes what he has seen when he pairs Chris Bosh and Chris Andersen together. Miami has shot 57 percent and outscored teams by 43 points in the 60 minutes they have played together.

### The latest on the Penn State coaching saga: The Times-Tribune in Scranton, Penn., reported tonight that the job has been offered to Vanderbilt's James Franklin and he will decide Thursday whether to accept it.

### Al Golden, on WQAM, offered another reason why he decided not to fire any coaches: “I don’t believe starting over is the answer. We have so many talented players coming back. The entire secondary will be back, for the first time since we’ve been here.

“We have to use our experience. We don’t throw it out the window by creating a bunch of new techniques and calls and alignments.”

By the way, with Golden announcing that UM will play with 82 scholarship players next season --- three under the maximum --- that means UM will dock itself three of the nine that it’s required to relinquish over the next three years. UM played with 76 scholarship players this past season.

### UM's 63-57 win at North Carolina tonight was impressive considering UNC has beaten the top three teams in one of the preseason polls (Michigan State, Louisville and Kentucky), though UNC also has some bad losses. Rion Brown (19 points, 10 rebounds) was terrific; Tony Jekiri had 10 rebounds and three blocks; and Erik Swoope (14) and Garrius Adams (9 points, 6 assists) both made significant contributions. And freshman point guard Manu Lecomte played a sound floor game (seven assists, two turnovers).

UM, which won its fourth in a row against UNC, played an effective matchup zone on defense, and UNC shot just 30.8 percent. UNC isn't ranked, but this was an unexpected win during a rebuilding season. UM (9-6, 1-2) now has a week off before playing FSU at 9 p.m. next Wednesday at Bank United Center.

### The Marlins re-signed right-hander Kevin Slowey to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training, and he has a chance to win the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation or a long relief job.

Slowey will compete for a back-of-the-rotation spot with Tom Koehler, Brian Flynn and a couple of prospects, including highly-regarded Andrew Heaney. Slowey went 3-6 with a 3.86 ERA last season in 20 appearances for the Marlins, including 14 starts, before missing the final two months with a strained right forearm.

### Channel 10's Will Manso reported (and I have confirmed, as well) that Marlins president David Samson will be among 18 contestants on the upcoming season of the CBS series Survivor, which was taped last year in the Philippines. Participants are prohibited from discussing it. Samson participated in the Ironman World Championship Triathlon in Hawaii in 2006 and also runs marathons.